Gday,
I picked up a cheap Lombard PB recently, which has a very loose screen hinge - I've haven't opened it up yet and I can't say if it's broken or just well worn. I gather this is quite a common fault on Lombard/Pismo PB's.
I've also a Wallstreet PB (it's a "Mainstreet" one) which I've used previously for parts. It has a very good screen hinge; does anyone know if it's the same as a Lombard hinge? The screen hinge measure the same width and height, so I'm really hoping it does.
Just wanted to find out if anyone knows if they're interchangable before I go pulling the two machines apart.
Thanks
JB
Wallstreet, Mainstreet, Lombard and Pismo use a lot of the same case parts. See whether you can find service manuals for both machines in question and look them over before you proceed.
The Wallstreet serie are a completely different formfactor from the later PowerBook serie, so sadly there's no way such a swap can work.
FWIW, loose hinges are quite common among the bronze KB PowerBooks and are nothing to worry about. Those hinges aren't nearly as prone to failure as were the WS bunch. I'll respectfully suggest you adjust your expectations and live with it as is.
dan k
The main issue is that the screen is so loose on the Lombard it will fall over if you don't position it properly.
Thanks for the tip of checking out the service manual, I suspect the hinge is similar.
JB
Oh, why dinja say so? Sounds like a new(er) hinge is in order. However, while the hinges are of similar designs, they are not interchangable with those from the Wallstreet. Trust me, I have examples right here on the bench in front of me.
FWIW, you can use hinges from either PowerBooks bronze KB (Lombard as it's popularly known) or firewire (Pismo.) The only functional diff is the addition of the mount points for the wifi antenna on the firewire's hinge set.
dan k
Thanks for the tips
Can the existing hinge be repaired in any way? The screen is just excessively loose - it not broken away from the bottom casing nor does it slide around a lot on it's axis. I'm wondering if the hinge needs to be 'roughed up' with sandpaper to add more friction when it opens and closes.
Why I ask re: repair is that Lombard/Pismo parts are fairly scarce here (Australia), and overpriced - the Lombard only cost me $80 as is!
JB